Messages

121

General Mach Discussion / Re: 1.84 won't recognise M30

« on: November 27, 2008, 11:03:26 PM »

Yeah, I should update, but 1.84 has been flawless, and I never seem to need any of the newer stuff, which all seem to be done for mill work anyway. I use the Mach Silverblue screen, would this still work with a new version, would there be any new features that turn uses that the silverblue screen would not have on it? Thanks to all.
      DaveA.

122

General Mach Discussion / 1.84 won't recognise M30

« on: November 27, 2008, 10:42:13 PM »

Running my lathe with version 1.84 for a few years now, but just recently it won't recognise the M30 command. I do have M30 in the G code file, and can open it to edit it right there and see that it is in fact, in the list, but then save and close and the command is not shown on the scrolling code list, and when the program ends with the M5 I put in before it, it just ends there without rewinding back to the start. Very strange. Total reboot makes no differerence. Can I edit something to fix it or an XML save and reload the entire program?
      DaveA.

123

General Mach Discussion / Re: Turn Z part offset

« on: September 21, 2008, 07:22:49 PM »

Just trying to help, but the way I described works, and will do what you want I think, unless I'm missing the big picture here somehow.

124

General Mach Discussion / Re: Some questions about radius compensation

« on: September 21, 2008, 11:22:02 AM »

Looks to me that you are using the wrong offset code, try G42, which puts the mill to the left side of the cut, for an internal pocket, You are using a G3, an anti clockwise cut, so that would have the mill outside the pocket
   DaveA.

125

General Mach Discussion / Re: Turn Z part offset

« on: September 20, 2008, 01:29:41 AM »

Set your tool number 1 to X0 Z0 first. Put a piece of stock in the chuck and take a facing cut off it. Without moving the tool away, set the Z part offset, on the manual screen, to 0.00 and click Z offset. Next take a cut off the diameter, and without moving the X axis, you can jog back in the Z however, measure the diameter of the cut and put that amount in the X part offset box. Then click the X part offset button, it should now show the main DRO to the same diameter as the measured part. If you have a quick change toolpost you can now set all your tools using this part as your reference.
   DaveA.

126

General Mach Discussion / Re: dxf files for Turn

« on: September 19, 2008, 01:36:58 AM »

I don't use Lcam, but just my two cents worth, when I use Surfcam I know it likes the start point of a roughing/ finishing operation to be on the outside of the material, and, like almost all canned cycles, it will return to the start point at the end, which at that point you are supposed to add in the rapid away moves. Try to change the start of the cycle to the outside of your stock, maybe you have to add a line to represent the stock max diameter or something. I'm betting that this is where your potential crash is being added in at the end.
                   DaveA.

127

General Mach Discussion / Re: chip control on cnc lathe

« on: September 02, 2008, 01:15:52 AM »

Chipbreakers built into modern carbide indexable tool tips don't work until you actually take a decent cut with them, most lathes under 13" don't have the rigidity to make these work at all. You can grind in a chip coiler as I do for boring bars sometimes, smaller boring bars also don't have the rigidity to take a big cut anyway, so the best you can do is to try to make the chip come out as a coil, which is more controllable and not nearly as dangerous. Grind a slot close to the leading edge of the tool tip that will force the swarf to dive down and then up again, this will force it to turn into a coil, but the downside is that the edge won't last as long.
                          DaveA.

128

General Mach Discussion / Re: M3Turn Tool Set-up Prob

« on: June 27, 2008, 08:42:20 PM »

I still use 1.84, this was set as a lockdown issue, and have zero tool setting problems, you might try that version if you need peace of mind. Tool offset problems on a lathe are scarey at best.

129

General Mach Discussion / Re: Matching Dros

« on: June 16, 2008, 06:06:00 PM »

Hate to jump into this, but you might also check your table gibs out. Most smaller machines, and certainly the cheaper chinese machines use set screws for gib loads, these make up for a lot of manufacturing problems but aren't very rigid. My chinese lathe has the more rigid tapered gibs, BUT; they were very poorly fitted, had big clearance on one end while the other was tight, and weren't even STRAIGHT!, had some curvature to them. I had to surface grind the X axis one to the correct taper and to grind the bow out, then refit it. All this can make a table or crosslide walk around and if you have digital readout scales on one side this might account for your differences in readings and even backlash. Mount a dial indicator on the table side and grab it and load it by hand, you might be surprised to see one end move and the other be tight, etc.
     DaveA.

130

General Mach Discussion / Re: G02 & G03

« on: June 13, 2008, 01:36:36 AM »

Is this on a lathe? Turn seems to run it's arcs in reverse of the normal directions, G2 clockwise and G3 counterclockwise.
    DaveA.